Table 1.
Molecular factors that promote the EMT and VM in solid tumors.
| Factors promoting VM and EMT | Effects on cancer hallmarks and association with clinical parameters | Effects on proteins and signaling pathways associated with EMT-VM | Types of cancer | References |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Slug↑ | Invasion, metastasis, TNM | ↓ VE-cadherin, ↑vimentin | Hepatocellular, NSCLC | (17, 18) |
| Runx2↑ | Migration, invasion | ↓ VE-cadherin, ↑vimentin, ↑Galectin-3 | Hepatocellular | (16) |
| pSTAT3 | Migration, invasion, metastasis, TNM stage, poor prognosis | IL-6, ↓ VE-cadherin, ↑vimentin, ↑Twist1 | Colorectal | (19) |
| CDK5 | Migration, invasion | FAK/AKT | NSCLC | (20) |
| HIF-1α↑ HIF-2α↑ |
Shorter survival, poor tumor differentiation, late clinical stage, lymph node metastasis, poor prognosis | ↓ E-cadherin, ↑vimentin, ↑Twist, ↑VE-cadherin, Claudin-4, ↑Slug, ↑MMP2, ↑MMP9, LOXL2, Twist1 | Ovarian, colorectal, pancreatic, hepatocellular | (21–24) |
| ZEB1↑ | TNM stage, lymph node, distant, migration | Src signaling, ↓ VE-cadherin, Flt-1 | Prostate, colorectal | (25, 26) |
| ZEB2↑ | Invasion, metastases | ↑VE-cadherin, Flt-1, Flk-1, MMP | Hepatocellular | (27) |
| uPAR+ | Metastasis, poor prognosis | ↑Vimentin, ↑VE-cadherin; ↓ E-cadherin, ↑twist, ↑snail | Large-cell lung cancer | (28) |
| FZD2↑ | Proliferation, apoptosis, migration, invasion | ↓E-cadherin, ↑N-cadherin, ↑Vimentin, ↑Slug, ↑snail, Hippo signaling | Hepatocellular | (29) |
| Notch1↑ | Invasiveness, poor prognosis | ↑Hes1, ↓ E-cadherin, ↑vimentin, TGF-β1 | Hepatocellular | (30) |
| DKK1↑ | Migration, invasion, proliferation, aggressive, poor prognosis. | ↓E-cadherin, ↑N-cadherin, ↑Vimentin, ↑MMP2, ↑MMP9, ↑β-catenin-nu | NSCLC | (31) |
| Netrin-1 | Migration, invasion | ↓E-cadherin, ↑N-cadherin, PI3K/AKT and ERK | NSCLC | (32) |
| EphA2↑ | Migration, invasion | ↑Vimentin, ↑twist | Head and neck squamous cell | (33) |
| LGIR1 | Migration, invasion | ↓E-cadherin, ↑N-cadherin, EGFR/ERK | Melanoma | (34) |
| MIF↑ | High-grade tumor, poor survival | CXCR4/AKT/EMT | Glioblastoma | (35) |
| Twist1 | Migration, invasion, metastasis | ↓E-cadherin, ↑N-cadherin, MMP9, Bcl-2 | Hepatocellular | (36, 37) |
| MACC1↑ | Poor prognosis | HGF/c-Met-↑TWIST1/2 | Gastric | (38) |
| Wnt5a | Metastasis | PKCα, ↓ E-cadherin, ↑vimentin | Ovarian | (39) |
| HMGA2 | TNM stage, metastasis, recurrence | ↑VE-cadherin, ↑twist1 | Gastric | (40) |
| ROCK1 | Invasion, metastasis | ↓ E-cadherin, ↑vimentin,RhoA/ROCK | Hepatocellular | (41) |
| Sema4D | Migration | RhoA/ROCK | NSCLC | (42) |
| LOXL2 | Metastasis, poor prognosis | ↓ E-cadherin, ↑vimentin | Hepatocellular | (23) |
↑ High expression, ↓ low expression. EMT, epithelial-mesenchymal transition; VM, vascular mimicry; NSCLC, non-small cell lung cancer.